A Dice Roll Away - Chapter 62

The time between lunch and the end of the school day seemed to drag on for twice as long as normal. Blinda kept going to the window and looking out of it. He wondered what she was looking at. She had told each of them to write down everything they knew about the city of Ongus and Leo found this easy enough to do but he did not really see the point of it. It’s not like they were learning anything new. But with the two minuses he already had, he decided not to even ask what the point of the lesson was because that type of question was one he didn’t seem to get right sometimes. And Blinda seemed to sometimes think he was being cheeky when he really wasn’t trying to be.

But, finally after looking out of the window again, Blinda told them to pack up their work and prepare to go home. And then released the class. Leo went and used the Latrina, and then went back to the classroom to get his book. Then he walked to the room which was used for the special lessons, the classroom closest to the refectory.

The room was quite dark. The heavy curtains on the walls had already been closed. He looked around the room. He could see Blinda talking to Rodbard and Jalena.  Gudwina was lighting candles. Mistress Marta walked into the room and looked around. She was carrying a birch rod and Leo hoped she wasn’t looking for him. He had no reason he could think of to be worried unless she had found out about his eavesdropping. But she might have done.

Who was missing? Eadweard. Mistress Marta noticed this as well.

“Had anybody seen Eadweard?”

“No, Mistress,” said Blinda. “Maybe he’s just running late. He does have to get here from the library.”

“I’m well aware of that, Blinda, thank you. It is one of the excuses for lateness I will tolerate. I had hoped he’d make good time today however. I wanted to… no matter. We will wait a little while for him. I am sure he is on his way.”

Sure enough a few moments later, they heard footprints pounded up the hallway and Eadgar came through the door. “Sorry, Mistress. I could not quite get away on time.” He had obviously been running.

“I understand.” She looked at the door. And then, Leo saw her shake her head slightly.

“Close and bar the door… Eadgar!”

Leo’s brother had stepped into the room. He was dressed in dark clothing, with a sword hanging at his side. And he looked pale. And very nervous.”

“Mis… Dame Marta… I have…” He paused. And straightened. And said in a very different voice. “I was told to come here. I’ll leave if you wish.”

Eadweard and Gudwina had both pushed the other children including Leo behind themselves. Eadweard looked annoyed and pushed Gudwina back as well.

Mistress Marta looked at Eadgar. “I asked for you to come.”

“That is what Amity told me, but I… sometimes she likes her little jokes. Or has her little schemes. And seeing me disheartened might just appeal to her.”

Mistress Marta turned and looked at Eadweard shielding all the others. “I approve Eadweard – but Eadgar is here at my invitation as I’ve said.”

Eadweard looked relieved. “Shall I close and bar the door then.”

“Please proceed. And the rest of you sit down in the front row.”

Eadweard barred the door and then joined the others in the row. Eadgar stood in the shadows near the door.

Eadweard cleared his throat. “Should I proceed Mistress?”

“Please.”

He spoke. “What we do here we do for knowledge. What we do here we do for wisdom. What we do here we do for the Art. What we do here we do for good. What we do here we do for the glory of True Gods and True Faith wherever we find it.”

Then Blinda spoke the second part of the ritual. “We do not oppose the Church. That which is the province of the Church is the province of the Church. We do not oppose the Crown. That which is the province of the Crown is the province of the Crown. We just say that what is the province of our Art is the province of our Art – if all good things come from God, then our talents must be God given – and how can anything given by God be wrong?”

Mistress Marta spoke before anybody could respond. “Eadgar, step forward to me.”

Eadgar slowly stepped from the door into the candle light.

Mistress Marta spoke. “Eadgar was once my apprentice. In anger and in error, I cast him out and told him that I hoped to never see him again and if I did… there would be blood and fire. I expelled him from this school. I ended his training and tried to deprive him of his sorcery. I cannot change much of this. I have nothing left to teach him. Yet… all of you children now come to me.”

Leo rose and joined the others as they circled Mistress Marta and Eadgar.

“Eadgar… kneel.”

Eadgar dropped to his knees, his face shining in the light.

“I, Marta of Ongus, Mistress of the Arts do take you, Eadgar of Ongus, as apprentice for now and until the day you come into your own power. I will teach you. I will guide you. I will encourage and chastise you, in the pursuit of our art for wisdom and for good. Bear witness.”

Leo remembered the response and chanted it with the others. “We witness this and call him brother.” Well, at least that would be very easy for him.

Eadgar’s voice was on the verge of breaking as he rose to his feet.

“You do not know what this means to me.”

“I believe I do have some idea. And I believe I now have more idea of what everything else I did meant as well. And now, Eadgar, I release you. From what I have been told, you have long since mastered everything I would have taught you as apprentice. You do not need my training. You do not need my education. You need nothing more from me.”

“I need your forgiveness.”

“It was my mistake, Eadgar, not yours. And I need yours.”

He looked at her. “You have it for whatever you need it. But I still need yours. I was not guiltless. I was not blameless.”

“And I should have birched you. Or found something worse. I broke my oath in casting you out.”

“Even so.”

“I forgive you, Eadgar, for any sin or crime you ever committed against me.”

He bowed. “Then I shall take my leave in gratitude. Unless you want some help teaching this lot.”

“Is that a serious offer?”

He smiled. “Let’s not be silly. You don’t want a Rook teaching them.”

Leo heard Jalena gasp at that.

Mistress Marta smiled her thin smile. “I don’t want a Rook teaching them. I would have you.”

“You know I can’t leave. They’d never allow it.”

She leaned forward. “There are very few people I could not persuade, Eadgar.”

The atmosphere in the room changed slightly. “You do not want the Rooks as an enemy, Mistress.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Not from me.” Eadgar turned and raised the bar on the door.

“You are welcome in my school as a guest, Eadgar. And there are things I could still teach you.”

“Perhaps.” He did not yet open the door. “Amity gave me a letter for you. I don’t know what is in it?”

“Your indenture. Signed by her as your guardian. Everything all nice and legal.”

“It seems thicker than just that.”

“Good. In that case, you may as well tell Faith, and Hope, and Charity that I expect them back at school tomorrow.”

“What?”

“It would hardly be fair, Eadgar, if I took you back – and they remained expelled.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “I cannot wait to tell them. I honestly cannot wait! Do you know what you’re doing?”

“No.” And Mistress Marta laughed as well. “I probably don’t. I just know what I must do.”

“Then finally, Mistress, before I take my leave of you, I have one more thing to give to you.” He handed over what looked like a very small purse, it might have been big enough to hold a single coin.

The Mistress looked at it. “How much did it cost you?”

“About 500 florins.”

“That is… a great deal of money, but I think I should give it to you.”

“No, Mistress. It’s money you would preferred I never had. And what money you have is money that is much better in your hands. Especially if you are going to be educating my brother and sisters.”

He opened the door and left. Mistress Marta looked around.

“Eadweard, would you work with Blinda today. Jalena and Rodbard – more practice with your pronunciations. I will work with you. Gudwina – I have given Leo permission to pay special attention to the Lesser Healing spell, even though he is not even close to mastering Moonglow yet – so I would have you work with him as you are close to mastering it.”

“I think I might even be able to cast it, Mistress, if I had the opportunity.”

“Yes, it is a difficult one to test unless you already have an injured person, especially as you cannot use the normal method of testing it on yourself. I don’t suppose you have any injuries, Leo?”

“Only ones you gave to me, Mistress.”

“Is that being cheeky, Leo?”

“Um… yes. Probably. Sorry.”

“I think you can keep those particular injuries – and be very glad I’m not adding to them. Now listen to Gudwina – because she knows what she’s doing. And Gudwina – listen to Leo, because it isn’t entirely impossible he might have some sort of clue.”

“Yes, Mistress,” they both said.

Gudwina picked up a candle and took Leo a couple of rows back in the classroom just behind when Jalena and Rodbard had chosen to sit. Gudwina was about Blinda’s age, Leo thought – 13 or maybe 14 – and he was fairly sure she was still a pupil in the upper class which seemed to have pupils as old as at least 16. Blinda was right when she said she was clever. He wondered what the students left behind in the class she’d finished with had thought about her moving on to be more a teacher than a student. He had never really talked to Gudwina – all he really knew of her was that when the elven woman had come into the school… three weeks ago now, a little more, Gudwina had sent Jalena and Rodbard into the cellar before herself and stayed back to try and close the door. Today when it seemed that Eadgar had briefly been regarded as some sort of danger, Gudwina’s first response had again been to put herself between the younger children and the threat. That wasn’t much to go on, but it made Leo think that she must be a good person.

He opened his book to the pages on the Lesser Healing spell, and Gudwina seemed to do the same with a book she was holding. Hers was much smaller with tiny writing, that was all in Bacchile – he could tell the difference now, even though the letters were the same. She glanced at Leo’s book and she swore. Then looked alarmed and checked to see that Mistress Marta hadn’t heard.

“If I had had this book, Leo… I would have been… where did you get it?”

“Mistress Marta gave it to me.”

“I wish she had given it to me. Two years learning Bacchile… two years…”

“She only got it back recently. It was… lost… for a while.”

“Oh… perhaps that explains it. But does not make it much less annoying. May I take a look at it?”

“Of course.”

She turned the pages and soon came to the ones that showed the pictures of the naked people. “My God. Holy Gatanedes and the Saints!”

Jalena and Rodbard turned around. “What’s wrong, Gudwina?”

“Look at these pictures!”

Rodbard’s eyes went wide and he seemed to go bright red in the firelight. “Do you want to get us all whipped, Gudwina?”

“Mistress Marta gave Leo this book. She can hardly whip us for looking at it?”

“Well, that depends.” They had attracted Mistress Marta’s attention. And she was striding towards her with her birch rod in hand. Eadweard and Blinda leaped to their feet and almost ran over to see what was happening. “I certainly wouldn’t whip any of you for looking at a book I gave one of you to read and use – as long as it was being used properly. But if you are going to be silly, I might just need to see if I can make you think again.”

She looked picked up the book. “This is a man and this is a woman. Or rather they are drawings of a man and a woman. They are in their natural state. It is private and we are modest so we do not normally see people like this but in situations where it is appropriate, there is nothing wrong with it.”

She seemed annoyed. “I half think that perhaps I should have you all strip off and see if that gets rid of this silly behaviour – to do a few lessons in the nude. But it isn’t really your faults.” She turned and handed the birch to Eadweard. “Put that somewhere where they can’t see it, because they can’t stop staring at it when it’s in my hand. All of you- let this be a lesson for you as Sorcerers… or future Sorcerers at any rate. We cannot allow ourselves to be bound by the normal rules of our society when they stop us doing what we need to do. One of the most precious skills you will have once you reach your power is the ability to heal but to do that most effectively you need to understand how the human body works and that includes knowing what it looks like. You will have to put your hands on places to heal them. You can’t afford to be so embarrassed or shy or silly about these things that it makes it difficult for you to do whatever is needed. Eadweard!”

“Yes, Mistress?” He had returned.

“How many times have you used the Lesser Healing spell since you first mastered it.”

“Four times.”

“How many of those times have you had to see or touch somebody in a way you would not normally do so unless there was this need?”

“Twice.”

“Did you hesitate?”

“Yes. The first time. Then…”

“Well?”

“The person would have died if I hadn’t, done what I needed to do.”

“Did anybody object to you doing it?”

“No.”

“That may not always be the case – but generally people understand these things. Modesty is not a bad thing. Nor is respecting the rights of other people to privacy. Just don’t take it to extremes and try not to be silly about it. Think of yourselves as physicians, as healers. Indeed, I may even ask a healer I know – a very skilled physician to help me educate you all about this. Now back to work.”

They broke back up into their groups. Gudwina looked at Leo.

“Sorry. She’s right. I was being a bit silly about that. I should no better. Now, let’s look at the spell carefully.”

“Why did Mistress Marta say you could not test the spell on yourself? The way she said that made it sound unusual not to be able to do that.”

“I can heal myself by magic – we already know that. We do not know if I can heal another.”

“I don’t understand. The spell says if you can do one, you can do the other.”

“That is true of the spell you –we – are trying to learn. But it’s one spell, it’s one form of magic. I already have a little skill with another form. My mother was a Mystic and she began to teach me what she knew.”

“Was? Is she dead?”

Gudwina blinked at him. Leo said “I’m sorry. My mother is dead too. And my father.”

“We have those things in common,” said Gudwina. “And you do not need to apologise. People seem afraid to talk about it, that is all, it surprised me to just be asked. Yes, my mother is dead. She died two years ago. My father died three years before that. I was taken and sent to the orphanage just outside the city walls. I came into the city one day and as I walked past the Mistress in a market, I just… I knew she was gifted. I went to her and told her of my mother, and she told me to begin coming to her school. So I do. She cannot teach me what my mother was, but she is teaching me another way, and I think mother would be pleased at that. Now – listen to me say the words of the spell.” She began to speak in the arcane tongue and Leo felt it sitting on the tips of his hearing. “Now you say it.”

“I can’t,” said Leo. “I can read the sounds – more or less – at least I know what sound goes with what symbol, but I can’t hear them when they blend together and I can’t say them and not have them just sound like silly sounds.”

“That’s normal.”

“I know. I’ve been told. But it doesn’t help. Look, Gudwina… I understand some of the… the way it works, the flows, the shapes… but I can’t hear it right.”

“All right.” Gudwina thought for a moment. “Can I ask you to try something, Leo?”

“Yes.”

“Put your fingers in your ears – try to block out all the sounds. Then try to say the words.”

He did as she suggested. He saw a smile on her face, and he took his fingers out of his ears.

“Did it work?”

“Not exactly… your pronunciation is terrible. But I think that might help. My problem is different from yours and from what I can see different from some of the others as well. When I was a Mystic… when I was studying that, we did everything inside our heads… we did not speak a spell aloud. I think, perhaps… would you leave this with me, Leo. I want to talk to the Mistress about it. I have a theory.”

“All right.”

So Leo spent the rest of the lesson, listening or trying to listen to Gudwina saying the words necessary for a spell. And wondering if – when – he would be able to do the same.